Judges pull away from Wood

By Michael L. Misfeldt
Special to The Winchester Star

Winchester — After losing to James Wood Tuesday night, the Handley High School girls’ basketball team had to make some adjustments for Friday night’s Northwestern District semifinals.

Mission accomplished.

The No. 2-seeded Judges won 68-49, advancing to tonight’s district final at top-seeded Millbrook.

“In the second half, we were covering their three point shooter,” Handley coach Marvin Scott said. “There was always a defender in the middle to stop their guard and make her kick it out to someone else. We just intensified our defense and that made the difference.”

The third-seeded Colonels (6-14) didn’t get their first field goal until there was 3:49 left in the first quarter, but they went on a run and tied the score 16-16 by the end of the period.  The second quarter was also close, as both teams battled back on forth trading baskets, but the Judges (12-7) turned up their defense and ended the quarter on a 6-0 run, going into the half with a 31-27 lead.

The game became more physical in the third quarter, and that cost the Colonels their best rebounder, as Shannan Thorne fouled out.

With Thorne on the bench, the Judges got more second-chance shots and increased their lead to 49-40 heading into the fourth.

“When you lose your best rebounder, it makes it hard to win,” James Wood coach Rhonda Slider said. “Shannan is a force under the basket, and when she fouled out, it just changed the game.”

Both teams started 3 for 4 from the field in the fourth quarter, but the Judges started to put the screws to the Colonels defensively.

By the three-minute mark, Handley led by 15.

“This is championship basketball,” Scott said. “This defines you and shows what you’re made of. I think the girls really stepped up tonight and played a great game.”

“We played with a lot of energy tonight,” added sophomore Corin Scott, who scored 20 points, “We were able to run our plays and do what needed to be done to get the win.”

Senior Heather Armel scored a team-high 17 points for the Colonels, but she was the only Wood player in double figures and it wasn’t enough to lead them to a second straight win over Handley.

“Handley played us tough,” Slider said. “We kept it close in the first half but in the final quarter our girls were a little tired and it showed.”

Junior Erin Drumheller led Handley with 22 points, combining with Corin Scott for more than 60 percent of the team’s points.

“We played really well tonight,” Drumheller said. “The first half was really close, but in the second half we were able to stretch their defense and get our points.”